Growing up in Italy during the ’90s wasn’t easy being an NBA fan. There was one game a week on TV and you would only see highlights on the weekend. There was no internet and only a few basketball magazines to read. I made sure to buy and read them all. Twenty years later we came a long way and now, luckily, it’s easier to follow the NBA in every desired detail.
I started a few years ago to follow the Thunder, I stayed up at night to watch games and in the morning I was reading all the recaps and stories from all Thunder writers. I am still doing it both. I love to read all their stories. I loved it so much that last year I decided to start my own blog: Eurothunder. I started with game recaps, easy writing, but it allowed me to grow. Back in December I also started to write a “Weekly Critique” for the SuaveReport.com. All these pieces led me to achieve something that the little kid growing up in the ’90 in a small village in Italy was only dreaming about: cover an actual Thunder game in Oklahoma City. It wasn’t my first Thunder game, I saw them five times before in Oklahoma City and twice in Spain this past summer. However, this time was obviously different.
Last night was surreal. I was able to sit courtside and to walk on the court during warmups when the doors for normal fans were still being closed. I saw the media work room and where media gets (awesome) food before each game. I had a great seat as well. You have all the comfort. A monitor with a boxscore, space for the laptop to take notes and to tweet plays from the game. At the end of every quarter, a Thunder employee will bring you a printed stat sheet with all the stats and play-by-play of the game until that moment.
The Thunder destroyed the Milwaukee Bucks and Russell Westbrook was able to tie Oscar Roberson for most triple-doubles, forty-one, in a single season. The energy in the arena was crazy and the crowd was louder as I have ever heard.
The awesomeness wasn’t over yet because after the game the media is allowed to enter the locker rooms and to interview coaches and players. So was I. It was my first time, so obviously I was a mix of being excited and being nervous but it was definitely fun to watch how the media works. I will carry this into the future to improve my writing and content.
It was a great experience and I am sure it will help me improving my writing and content. Hopefully not the last time that I am able to cover a Thunder game.
A special and big thank you goes to Addam and the InsideThunder.com who made this happen.
congrats Alberto! Living the life!